Secure Room
by nityge
Summary: Based on season 4.
1. Chapter - Secure Room

**Secure Room**

Inspired by the vivid internet discussions about a possible Carrie and Quinn hook-up this season, I've decided to write a new Homeland fanfiction. It's based on episode 8 "Halfway to a donut", a title which I take as a synonym for the stage of relationship the both are heading for. I'm also toying with what might happen in that secure room where Lockhart, Quinn and Carrie are meeting to discuss the breach.

I hope you enjoy. Give me a review, if you like my story and if you want me to continue. And take it as what it is: just a fiction, not linked to the actual show!

* * *

><p>He's wondering if she could be right.<p>

'A breach in the embassy? Could it be true?'

She had looked so fragile in that hospital gown. It makes him feel guilty, wondering if he had let her down again. Like in that night when Javadi's men had taken her. But she had been so clear in her statement that he does not question her capability. And he has learned to trust her little hunches.

* * *

><p>Quinn and Lockhart are waiting in the embassy's secure room. It has been tough to persuade Lockhart to meet with Carrie. Her insane behavior in the past hours has damaged her credibility to a large extent. But somehow Quinn has managed it to win him over and give it a try.<p>

Quinn knows how much Lockhart is pissed by Carrie's mess. He just hopes that he won't use the meeting to reprimand Carrie and send her over the edge again.

When she arrives 15 Minutes too late Lockhart's face has come close to the color of a piglet, a clear sign of his disgust.

"Carrie, we are pleased you make it up to us." Lockhart snaps at her. "I hope this isn't another of your crazy cooking plans."

His words are a clear provocation, but they don't hit the target. Carrie stays all professional.

"Sir, I know I had been behaving strangely lately." She plays her cards openly. "I totally lost it."

"Which is nothing new." She got interrupted.

Carrie hesitates, but keeps her balance.

"These last hours were the hell for me. I got totally baffled and delusional, hallucinating about persons that weren't there and events that didn't happen. I thought I've finally gone over the edge. But there's an explanation for this. Someone had tempered with my meds. The analysis of the remaining pills and of my blood proves it. My meds had been exchanged. Whoever did this has access to embassy and to my apartment. We've got a breach."

She looks at Lockhart who isn't much impressed, but stays silent. Then she turns towards Quinn as if she wants to check on his support.

"Someone gambled with your meds. So what? That doesn't necessarily have to be linked with our case. Maybe you're just not very liked by your co-workers. I wouldn't wonder."

Lockhart's harsh statement shuts her down.

"With all respect, Sir." Quinn comes to her help. "If someone wants to weaken the station's effort, he would choose to take her out."

Lockhart answers with a dry laughter.

"You always jump in to her help? Like a white knight in shining armor. How sweat! There must be something true about the rumors."

Quinn turns pale. His eyes are widening by surprise. He turns quiet.

"What rumors?" Carrie is questioning with curiosity.

It's visible that Lockhart is pleased to get her attention. With a greasy smile he points towards Quinn.

"The rumors that he is in love with you."

"What? That's nonsense." She snarls at him.

"Well, he nearly choked Dar when he confronted him. Funny kind of nonsense." Lockhart is clearly amused by Carrie's ignorance and Quinn's dumbness.

Then he continues. "Whatever. You both figure this out. You got 24 hours to convince me that there's a breach. Do your best."

* * *

><p>Carrie is the first to speak after Lockhart is gone, closely studying Quinn's ghost-like face. He is clearly stunned and avoids her gaze.<p>

"Do we have an issue here?"

"What?" Now he's staring at her with dark eyes. "No fuck, we don't have an issue here."

"So you are not in love with me?"

"Like I said, we don't have an issue here." He is upset now, blowing up his nostrils, clenching his fists.

"Alright then." She tries to calm him.

"Yeah! Alright then."

"Any guess on the breach?" She's turning her attention towards the original topic.

He's hesitates to answer.

"Quinn?"

"I'm not sure. But…"

"What?"

"A couple of days Dennis were making strange comments about your medical issue. I didn't pay attention to it."

"Dennis Boyd? The ambassador's husband? Does he have a reason to commit treachery?"

"Maybe! He's a sort of looser. Got sacked at GW because of plagiarism. And his marriage is not on good terms. She gives him a rough time."

"Weak man with a strong woman."

"Yeah!" He looks at her precisely. "Some women get on your balls."

Carrie is wondering if he's still talking about Martha Boyd.

"Well, it's worth a try. We have no better guess." She sends him a warm smile. "Let's place a trap to get reassurance."

* * *

><p>Their plan is simple. They would have a chat in public about some important papers that Carrie is taking to her apartment, making sure Dennis overhears the message. Then Carrie would announce that she is going to take some pills to get a good decent sleep. If Dennis takes the bait, they would have a chance to follow him and get an eye on his contact. And this might lead them to Saul. Quinn informs Max and Fara to get ready for the chase.<p>

It works out to be a good plan. Dennis sneaks in around midnight, checks on Carrie (who pretends to sleep deeply), before he takes pictures of the prepared papers. Then he vanishes in the night.

Quinn crawls out of the closet where he has been hiding a couple of hours. He stretches his body as he's trying to relax his muscles.

"So Dennis is our breach. Now we only need to know with whom he's teaming up."

Carrie's is watching his muscle play, wondering how she could be that blind. She's quite sure that Quinn hasn't told her the truth when she confronted him with Lockhart's statement. She has seen it in his eyes. They were a little bit too dark, a little bit too widened, no eyes of honesty. But the thought of a love stuck Quinn feels weird and unreal. She isn't sure if she likes it and should go for it. Or if she should just ignore it. Maybe he is only in need of a good fuck. Since the ER nurse he had never mentioned any other woman. So what should she do with him?

Another look at his stiff face makes her decision easier. She would not let him off the hook that easy. She is a woman who loves the challenge. And Quinn is a tough nut to crack, a pro in hiding his feelings. So she plays the female card, as he tells her that he is leaving now.

"Can't you stay? I would feel much better, if I know you still there." She pats the bed's place beside her.

He frowns as if he's suspecting something, but sits down on her bed.

"Whatever you need, Carrie."

As usual Quinn devotes to her wish. She sends him a genuine smile and lays down for sleep.

* * *

><p>Quinn wonders what he's doing here. Sitting on Carrie's bed, watching over her sleep, being this close to her after what had happened today.<p>

He had been really shocked by Lockhart's revelation. Carrie had seemed to be surprised too, but not very impressed. Her only concern had been if there was an issue, or if he was still functioning in her way. That's what she needs him for, being her soldier, doing whatever she needs. Love is not part of that.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Jesus, Carrie. I thought you are sleeping."

"I tried, but I am still wondering about ..." She pauses as if she's not sure how to continue.

Quinn knows exactly where she's aiming at.

"There's nothing to wonder about. Lockhart is just an asshole who wants to provoke us."

"Well, if you ask me. He hit his target." She sits up. Staring at him in the bedroom's dimmed light.

"You're wrong, Carrie."

"And you are such a bad liar."

"I didn't lie to you. I said we don't have an issue. Which is true."

"Which leads us to two alternatives." She's now on the top of her game. "First: we don't have an issue, because you don't love me. Second: we don't have an issue, because you're concealing your feelings."

Her analysis is short, but brilliant. That's why he admires her so much. She's coming very close to tear down his walls. But he's not willing to go down that path. Because he's sure it just a game to her and it might end in hurt.

"You should sleep now, Carrie." He's answering in a husky voice, fearing that she will not give up.

"Why you're burying your feelings, Quinn?" She asks him softly.

He doesn't know what to reply. And there's no need to reply. She just leans in and kisses him.

And his world shifts, upside down, back and forth, leaving him without orientation. The growing warmth inside his body makes him swap from heavy to light and heavy again. Fuck, she got him.

Just as he starts to respond to her kiss, she moves her hand down to his thigh, between his legs. Like she is testing his willpower. It wakes him up at once. Now he's able to resist her. It costs him a lot of control, but he doesn't intend to indulge to her cruel play.

Forcefully he pushes her away, escapes her longing lips and fingers. Prepared to be a fucking liar, rewarded with a bitter victory for his dignity.

"Sorry, Carrie. But we don't have an issue, because I don't love you."


	2. Chapter - Invasion

The situation at the embassy couldn't be worse. Floor by floor they had lost to the enemy. Finally they had been driven back to the ops and secure room section.

Quinn knows it's just a matter of time until the Taliban will tear down the steel-plated doors. He can hear their fierce efforts from outside. He also knows there will be no mercy for them. Not for him, not for his fellow combatants. They have no value for the Taliban. Lockhart and Martha Boyd had been evacuated long hours ago.

Boyd's confession has saved them, at least so far. When the terrorists' invasion started, they had been prepared and welcomed them with their guns. Protecting themselves regardless the consequences. Giving their colleagues enough time to escape.

But now it's over. He sits down on the floor with the gun in his hand. Waiting for them. His face is distorted by immense stress, his body covered in sweat and dirt. He looks at the gun in his hand. Killing himself is an obvious option. Saul would have chosen it. Escape or die. These were his words.

But Quinn isn't sure if he has the courage to do it. Somehow it doesn't feel right. For a second he closes his eyes, imagines her face. Then he takes out his cell phone and dials a number.

He listens to the ringing tone. Fuck, she's still not answering her phone. It pisses him off. Why she's doing this to him? How could she act like this? Doesn't she know how much he is worrying about her?

When he first heard about the ambush, he was totally shocked and shaken, not able to gather himself for couple of minutes. Shedding the tears he had fought back during the dramatic minutes of the prisoners' exchange. The shock had been soon followed by an immense rage. Why the fuck, he had given in to her wish to stay at the embassy? It should have been him who got torn by the bomb, not her. He wanted to run to the place where it had happened. Even if there was nothing he could do for her.

The Taliban's' invasion had blast his plan. It caused him to focus on the fight. Mourning had to wait, maybe until the afterworld. Later as he had the chance to talk to Lockhart, he was told that Carrie and Saul were fucking gone.

Just two words and Quinn had been wary. A lock at Lockhart's face confirmed his suspicion. Their deaths are a fake. A fucking fake for a reason he still doesn't understand. All he knows it's too fucking dangerous.

He's still listening to the annoying ringing tone.

'Fuck you Carrie, really fuck you. I thought we are friends. This is not the fucking way how friends treat each other. I care so much about you, but you have no need to tell me you are safe.'

The ringing tone is intermingled with the outside breaking noise. Quinn grabs his weapon. She is not getting away with this. No fucking way. He will confront her. And then …

When the doors finally burst under the terrorists' forceful attacks, he is prepared. Leaving the fucking ringing behind. At least for now!


	3. Chapter 3 Pants Off

Quinn unbuttons his shirt, closely watching the gun in her hand.

"What you're staring at?" He rips the shirt off his body, drops it on the floor and waits for her next move.

"Take off your pants." She demands decidedly, waving the gun in his direction.

He's pissed now. What the fuck she's thinking? This is not a game. Waving a gun at him, asking for a strip. For a moment he considers to disarm her. She wouldn't shoot at him. Would she? But the look at her face is dead serious. He doesn't want to end with a bullet. He has a mission to complete.

Carrie's watching him as his fingers open his belt and unbutton his pants. Furiously he stares back at her as he opens the zipper and pulls his pants down to his knees. This whole thing will cost him valuable time. Time he doesn't have if he wants to hunt down Haqqani.

"You're such a fucking idiot, Quinn." She stares at the bomb he has taped right above his pubis.

The bomb isn't armed yet. She can see the loose end of the fuse. Half of the bomb is covered by his briefs, but it's obvious he had done an intimate shaving to keep the tape tight around his body.

"Why are you doing this?" Her eyes are filling with tears of disbelief.

"Doing what?"

"Sacrificing your life. For this shit. What do you think, you can stop with this?" Her left hand points at the bomb.

"Fuck you, Carrie. It's not up to you to judge me. You brought me back here. Told me how important it is. Told me that I shouldn't stand on the brake." His eyes start sparkling by rage. "And guess what. You finally convinced me."

"You blame me for this? That you want to kill yourself?" A tear runs down her cheek. "How can you do this? How can you leave me behind, telling me that I'm responsible?"

"I'm not blaming you. This is my decision. I have nothing to lose. I have done enough bad things in life without asking why. You taught me to challenge my actions." He stares at the tears that are slowly running down her face. "For God sake, Carrie. We both know this is an end game. Doesn't matter how I lose my life. At least it will be for some purpose."

"No, I won't allow it. Not again"

She drops the gun to the floor, closes the distance between them and desperately starts to rip at the tape. But it's a high quality tape serving its purpose. Hysterically she bangs her fists at him until he stops her by grabbing her arms.

"Carrie, please." He pulls her into his arms, holds her tight, stroking her back, her hair. "It's okay."

She breathes heavily into his chest, now crying uncontrolled. Her tears soak his skin, running down his body, unifying with the bomb.

He thinks how ironic this whole shit is. He had always wished to hold her like this and spend her comfort. Fucking wrong time to share such feelings. He has to stop it before it's too late.

He pulls her away, out of his arms. Looks at her. Their eyes meet and they both see what they have missed before.

It's the very moment when her instincts kick in again.

"No, Quinn. No. Don't. It will kill me."


End file.
